canon xm2 or sony DCR-VX2100E

[komatoast]

just a quick 1 here.


we are looking to get 2 new dv cameras.... we had 2 xm1's but were stolen :(
however, new we getting some replacements.

due to the xm1 being discontinued we are looing for the next best thing. i have seen that the xm2 and the sony DCR-VX2100E are around the same price and each have similar atributes.
does anyone have any practical experiance with thse cameras in which to give us an idea of which is the better of the two?

or.... are there any other cameras around the same price and spec that can be recomended?

cheers
adam

[irishmark]

I have used both cameras. These are competeing against eachother in their own class but both are excellent units. It would be a difficult choise as they are so similar. It is not really a case of which is better as the diffrences are so minute.

If I were you i'd go with the XM2 purley becuase of your experience using XM1's. The familiarity with it will make things easier.

[komatoast]

yeah it does sound the safer option... however i am torn between the 2 cos the sony has a manual zoom but only a 12x optical zoom and the xm2 has 20x optical zoom with no manual functuon.

i know its nothing major but it would be nice to have the option of the manual zooming..... grrrrr so i take it there are not real differences in quality?

[Marc Peters]

Originally Posted by komatoast yeah it does sound the safer option... however i am torn between the 2 cos the sony has a manual zoom but only a 12x optical zoom and the xm2 has 20x optical zoom with no manual functuon. i know its nothing major but it would be nice to have the option of the manual zooming..... grrrrr so i take it there are not real differences in quality?

What do you mean by no manual zoom? There's a zoom 'rocker' for your index finger at the top of the XM2.

[irishmark]

he means a zoom ring on the lens.

[Marc Peters]

Right, yes, there's a manual focus ring but no zoom ring. IMO rings on smaller handhelds are pretty much a waste of time.

[Mark W]

I wouldnt worry about super zooms - anything over 10x is pretty useless without a stout tripod.

[irishmark]

so very true on both accounts

[Mihai]

What about low light? Aren't you considering Sony's better performance?

[komatoast]

i have used an xm1 in pretty low light and it comes out with some nice shots. i have not seen any footage of low light on the sony but i can only assume they are quite similar.

if anyone has any sample footage from either camera that would help a ton!

as for the manual zoom 'ring' personaly i would find quite usefull for certain shots... hence it being a plus point on the sony.

thanks for the help thus far.... still quite undecided but i still have a little time to ponder